Jer and I thoroughly enjoyed our date. It's so nice to have a chance to kick back and spend time just the two of us-- the respite care really has been a Godsend.
We took Connor down to the swimming pool today for the first time this year. Last year when we tried this it was an unmitigated disaster. For starters, pools in the Pacific Northwest never really get hot. Rather, they go from dangerously cold in the winter to seriously freezing in the summer. With his temperature regulatory issues, indoor pools are really the only pool Connor is able to enjoy here without some sort of tiny wetsuit, and I'm pretty sure they don't come in his size.
I take that back. I googled it and apparently they DO come in his size. Because if there's one thing your three year old needs to add to his summer activities, it's scuba diving. Right.
Anyway, last year when we tried the indoor pool near our house on Fort Lewis not only was it still too cold, but the echoing noise from all the other screaming kids and the splashing was way, way too much for him sensory-wise, and he had a complete meltdown within about five minutes. The acoustics in swimming pool area, especially indoors, are really, really bad for people who are Deaf or HoH, by the way, which probably didn't help any. That was our only swimming expedition of last year.
This year we walked down to the indoor pool in our apartment complex. It had been raining earlier in the day, which meant less people at the pool-- though if you think about it this is kind of silly, as not only is the pool indoors but you're going to get wet anyway. Oh well. At any rate, we pretty much had the entire pool area to ourselves. This pool was much warmer than the one we tried last year, and Connor actually seemed to enjoy himself-- he even did some kicking on command! We spent about 45 minutes there practicing standing, doing some therapy exercises (such as the kicking) and playing games that I remember playing in the pool with my parents when I was a little kid, like the "Motor Boat" game. I'm thinking that we'll be coming back soon.
Best of all, Connor crashed immediately after we came home and took an hour-long nap. Anything that will get my child to sleep during the day is a good activity by me!
~Jess
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4 years ago
2 comments:
I love your recent posts -- haven't had time to comment until now. (The story about the self-entertainment in the exercise room was hilarious.) You're right about pool room acoustics, although I guess it's less of an issue for us because without his equipment, Ben really can't hear a thing, so we just give up on oral communication altogether. Ben has been in a proper pool once and his brand new little kiddy pool once, and he loved both experiences. Glad to hear that Connor's immersion was successful this time.
Emmett is very sensitive to cold and has a hard time keeping his temperature up as well. If you Google "thermal swimwear for toddlers" there are a few options (we're ordering one for E from swimoutlet.com).
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